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Student Visas

Mr. Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what assessment he has made of the impact of changes in the number of people arriving from outside the UK on student visas in 2003 on the resources available to the higher education sector; [192396]
 
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(2) if he will make a statement on the impact of recent changes in the rejection rate for student visa applications on academic disciplines in the higher education sector; [192397]

(3) what representations he has made to the Foreign Secretary on the predicted impact of charges for applications and extensions to student visas on the number of overseas students attending higher education institutions in the UK. [192398]

Dr. Howells: My Department is not able to assess the direct effect of changes to the visa arrangements on either the resources consequently available to higher education institutions, or on the numbers of international students choosing particular higher education courses. Data on the number of students in higher education in 2003–04 and the current academic year are not yet available. While no formal representations have been made to the Foreign Secretary on the proposed charges for applications to extend leave to remain in the UK, officials across government are working together to consider the possible impacts, and to ensure they are not unduly prohibitive for international students.

University Access/Admissions

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether he expects the Director General of the Office for Fair Access to commission research into access to university places; and whether he would expect such research to be published. [193839]

Dr. Howells: It is entirely a matter for the Director whether he commissions any research and what he publishes. Any report which the Director provides for the Secretary of State will be laid before Parliament.

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether he plans to publish any further guidance which he gives to the Director General of the Office for Fair Access. [193840]

Dr. Howells: The Secretary of State has sent a letter of guidance to the Director of Fair Access to Higher Education, Sir Martin Harris, and copies are available in the House of Commons Library. This letter was published in draft in July. Any further statutory guidance will also be published.

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to meet the Director General of the Office for Fair Access to Universities. [193270]

Dr. Howells: The Secretary of State hopes to meet Sir Martin Harris, the Director of Fair Access to Higher Education, in the near future.

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills where he expects the Office of Fair Access to be located. [193271]

Dr. Howells: The Office for Fair Access will be co-located with HEFCE in Bristol initially.

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the Office of Fair Access will be able to consider complaints of unfairness and discrimination from (a) students and (b) schools. [193272]

 
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Dr. Howells: The Office for Fair Access can consider complaints from any interested party relating to a possible breach of an institution's access agreement.

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what targets he expects the Office of Fair Access to set universities; and what criteria he expects the Office of Fair Access to use in determining whether universities are allowed to charge fees. [193273]

Dr. Howells: The Office for Fair Access will not set targets for institutions. Institutions will decide themselves what milestones they will include in their access agreements, as a measure of success. We expect the Director of Fair Access to issue guidance to institutions on access agreements shortly.

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what factors led him to supplement the draft letter of statutory guidance to the Director of the Office of Fair Access (OFFA) issued during the passage of the Higher Education Act 2004 with paragraph 9.5 of the new draft letter of statutory guidance to the Director of OFFA issued on 14 July; and whether he expects (a) type of school and (b) socio-economic background to be included in the milestones relating to university admission referred to in paragraph 9.5. [193350]

Dr. Howells: The draft letter of statutory guidance was revised in the light of the parliamentary debates on the Higher Education Bill and discussions with the sector and other interested parties. As we have always made clear, institutions will set their own milestones.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Royal Security

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the percentage apportionments of costs were between the United Kingdom and (a) Australia, (b) Canada and (c) New Zealand for providing security on the occasion of the most recent visit, in each case, by (i) Her Majesty the Queen and (ii) other members of the Royal Family; whether different arrangements and costings apply when the visit is (A) official and (B) private; and if he will make a statement. [190428]

Mr. Blunkett: We do not have a breakdown of the security costs for these visits as any such costs incurred by host countries are entirely a matter for that country. As regards costs incurred by agencies in the United Kingdom it is our long established policy not to reveal details of the costs of protection arrangements as to do so could be indicative of the levels of protection provided, and so could compromise an individual's security.

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what protocols and agreements exist with (a) Canada, (b) Australia, (c) New Zealand and (d) other Commonwealth countries where Her Majesty is Head of State as to the responsibility of their police forces to provide security for Her Majesty and other members of the Royal Family (i) on official visits and (ii) private visits; and if he will make a statement. [190432]

 
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Mr. Blunkett: As Head of State, when Her Majesty the Queen visits a foreign or Commonwealth country she is entitled, under customary international law, to receive protection from the host country, regardless of whether it is a private or official visit. There are no specific protocols or agreements relating to the protection of Her Majesty the Queen or other members of the Royal Family. Arrangements for the protection of members of the Royal Family on visits overseas are a matter for discussion with the security authorities of the host country concerned.

Animal Experiments

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of animal experimentation undertaken in the UK in 2003 was not for purely medical research. [192897]

Caroline Flint: The question cannot be answered definitively from the data collected. Procedures conducted purely for medical research would be included among the 693,743 and 150,679 procedures reported as being for applied studies (human and veterinary medicine respectively) in Table 1 of the annual publication "Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, Great Britain, 2003", a copy of which is in the Library. However such procedures would also include a substantial but unknown proportion of the 902,570 procedures for which breeding was the only regulated use, and many of the 832,926 procedures reported as being for fundamental biological research since many of these studies would have been done to obtain an eventual medical benefit.

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of animal experimentation undertaken in the UK in 2003 was for household product testing; and if he will make a statement. [192898]

Caroline Flint: The information requested may be found in Table 10 of the annual publication "Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, Great Britain, 2003," a copy of which is in the Library. This table shows that last year, 234 procedures were started for the purpose of safety testing of products used in the household. This figure represents 0.0084 per cent. of the total number of procedures conducted in 2003.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is in respect of the testing of finished household products on animals. [193085]

Caroline Flint: The Government currently have no plans to ban the use of animals in assessing the safety of finished household products or their ingredients. National and international regulatory bodies require that the chemicals used in a range of household products are tested to assess the risk they might pose to man, animals and the environment. Under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 such testing using animals can only be licensed when the information to be obtained is considered essential to the required risk assessment, and when it cannot be obtained by non-animal methods. Unfortunately, there are, in some cases, still no reliable alternatives to this kind of animal testing if the necessary safety data are to be generated.
 
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Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to change the regulations and legislation in relation to the licensing and monitoring of animal experiments. [192521]

Caroline Flint: The licensing and monitoring of animal experiments in the UK stem from the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, which transposes into UK law—and in some respects exceeds—the requirements of EU Directive 86/609. The 1986 Act is widely regarded as the most rigorous piece of legislation of its kind in the world, and there are at present no plans to change it or the regulation for which it provides.

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures are taken to ensure that licensed animal experiments in the UK are not being unnecessarily duplicated in other countries. [192522]

Caroline Flint: Animal experiments in the UK are not knowingly licensed under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 if they unnecessarily duplicate such work undertaken elsewhere. Appropriate checks on this are undertaken when licence applications are considered. The Government cannot ensure that work licensed in the UK is not subsequently repeated in other countries, as that is beyond its jurisdiction. However, it contributes at the European and wider international level to ongoing efforts to prevent animals being used unnecessarily.

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he plans to take to eradicate redundancy in animal experiments. [192560]

Caroline Flint: There are no plans to take any steps beyond continued rigorous application of the licensing controls in the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, one effect of which is to ensure that there are no redundancies or unnecessary duplication in the conduct of animal experiments. Although some replication of experimental work is occasionally required for the purposes of scientific validation, the Government considers that the current regulatory system, as administered and implemented by the Home Office and its Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectorate, is effective in ensuring that animals are not bred or used unnecessarily.

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